10 Oct National Hate Crime Awareness Week is underway
National Hate Crime Awareness Week starts on October 8, 2016. Essex Police, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex, Victim Support and partner agencies across Essex will be raising awareness of hate crime and the support available for victims.
The week of social media activity aims to provide a greater understanding about what constitutes hate crime by getting people to talk about it and showing their support on social media. The twitter hashtag will be #StopTheHate
Hate crime can occur in lots of different ways including violence, theft, criminal damage, harassment and threats or offensive language. Hate crime affects people in different ways and can have significant impacts on the victims, their families and their communities.
The campaign will aim to:
- Increase awareness amongst the public around what hate crime actually is with a view to encouraging reporting from both victims and witnesses
- Provide people experiencing or witnessing hate crime with information and guidance on the support available local to them via the Essex Victims Gateway
Hate crime can be racially motivated, transphobic, or target a person’s sexual orientation, religion or a disability. Each day’s social media activity will feature human stories showing how hate crime can be stopped.
Stephen Kavanagh, Chief Constable of Essex Police, said: “Hate crime can take many forms from verbal abuse to bullying online to physical assault or damage to property. Being the victim of a crime just because of who you are, what you look like or who you love is sickening and we must work together to stop it.
“It’s time to hold our hands up and say ‘stop’. If you or someone you know is the victim of such a crime, I need you to report it to us to give us a chance to investigate and prosecute offenders and to keep you and the different communities that make up our county safe.”
Roger Hirst, Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said: “Hate crime is unacceptable. I hope everyone gets involved in the social media campaign to raise awareness of the support available if you are a victim of hate crime, or witness it taking place. By working together we can Stop The Hate.”
Neil Monk, Essex Hate Crime Project Co-ordinator, said: “Hate crime, whether it is something we have experienced throughout our lives or only encountered for the first time in recent months, is a real and present issue for us to deal with. By standing together and reporting all incidents of hate that we experience or witness we can empower the services in Essex to tackle this problem at its root and drive hatred from our communities.”
Terri Cochrane, Chair of the Strategic Hate Crime Prevention Partnership, said: “Tackling hate crime across Essex is a priority for CHP. Hate crime, in all its forms, can have a powerful impact on victims. We are committed to raising awareness to those who may engage in such activity and we will support those who suffer at the hands of perpetrators of this crime. Everyone in the community has the right to go about their business without being targeted with insults or worse. There should be no acceptable level of tolerance within Essex and working in partnership with The Essex Officer Housing Group and the Strategic Hate Crime Partnership to reduce and combat can make a difference for our residents.”
If you believe you have been targeted by hate crime but do not want to go directly to the police, you can visit the Essex Victims Gateway, Victim Support or a Hate Incident Reporting Centre.
